Johnny Kelley

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Johnny Kelley (actually John Adelbert Kelley ; born September 6, 1907 in West Medford , Massachusetts , † October 6, 2004 in Cape Cod ) was an American marathon runner who won the Boston Marathon in 1935 and 1945 , was an Olympian in 1936 and 1948 and was a US -Marathon champion became.

He is often referred to as Johnny Kelley the Elder ("the elder") to distinguish him from the equally important American marathon runner John J. Kelley ( The Younger; "the younger").

Kelley grew up as the oldest of 10 children in a family of Irish descent. As a child, he was initially interested in baseball until his father took him to the Boston Marathon as a spectator when he was 13. He began running at Arlington High School. In 1928 he ran his first marathon between Pawtucket and Woodstock .

In addition to the marathon, Kelley also ran shorter distances and was initially more successful there ( best miles time: 4:40 minutes). He won eleven national amateur championships on different routes between 15,000 meters and the marathon distance - most recently in 1954 in the 20,000-meter run.

He was twice a member of the American Olympic team, at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin he was the only American runner to finish the marathon in 18th place. After two Olympic Games were canceled due to World War II , he took part again in London in 1948 at the age of 41 and took 21st place.

Kelley is best known for winning and participating in the Boston Marathon . He started for the first time in 1928, but got out before the finish. Even on his second attempt in 1932, he did not finish the race. It ran for the first time in 1933 and has participated every year since then, except in 1968 when it had to sit out due to an illness. With 61 starts and 58 finishes, he holds the records for most participations and most completed races. He won the marathon twice, in 1935 and 1945. He placed second seven times and made it into the top ten 18 times. He last participated in 1992 at the age of 84, but continued to run shorter distances into old age.

He competed a total of 115 marathons in 64 years. He achieved his best time of 2:30:41 hours when he won in Boston in 1945.

The name Heartbreak Hill for the hill at 32 km of the Boston Marathon route goes back to an event with Kelley in 1936. Kelley, who started as last year's winner, overtook Ellison Brown , who was in the lead, and patted him on the back as he passed. This motivated Brown so much that he attacked again and eventually won the marathon. Kelley "broke his heart" (at least that's how Boston Globe reporter Jerry Nason described it ), and he finished the marathon only fifth. In 1993, a year after his resignation, the Young at Heart memorial was inaugurated at the foot of Heartbreak Hill, showing Kelley twice, as a young and as an older runner.

Since he never made any money running, Kelley is also known as the king of the amateurs . He worked as an electrician until his retirement in 1973 and was often only able to train at night. In 1980 he was inducted into its Hall of Fame by the USA Track & Field Association . and in 2000 elected him the American edition of the running magazine Runner's World for Runner of the Century (German: Runner of the Century ).

Tomb

Kelley died in 2004 at the age of 97. He was married four times.

literature

  • Frederick Lewis: Young at Heart: The Story of Johnny Kelley, Boston's Marathon Man. Rounder Records, 2005, ISBN 1-57940-113-9

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ^ The Boston Globe : At Heartbreak Hill, a salute to a marathoner for the ages , April 19, 1993
  2. ↑ John A. Kelley, USATF Hall of Fame
personal data
SURNAME Kelley, Johnny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kelley, John Adelbert; Kelley, John A .; The Elder
BRIEF DESCRIPTION american marathon runner
DATE OF BIRTH September 6, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH West Medford ( Massachusetts )
DATE OF DEATH October 6, 2004
Place of death Cape Cod